


Dreams of Reality

by SupernaturalHearts



Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII, Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Alternate Universe - Time Travel, BAMF Cloud Strife, Canon-Typical Violence, Drama & Romance, M/M, Mad Scientists, Multi, Mystery, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, POV Third Person, Past Torture, sorta - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-30
Updated: 2018-09-04
Packaged: 2019-07-04 14:50:44
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,157
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15843540
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SupernaturalHearts/pseuds/SupernaturalHearts
Summary: One week before his 9th birthday, Cloud wakes in the middle of the night after a terrible nightmare. Feeling as if he is going crazy he goes searching for answers. (twist on timetravel, m/m slash w/poly relationship eventually, explicit in later chapters, will post warning as needed.)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I'll try to keep this short so those of you who follow me just know I haven't given up on my other fics it's just this past year has been extremely difficult and I am only now getting the inspiration to write again. I am not sure the exact pairing for this fic just yet I only know that I want Seph/Cloud for sure but I'm torn on Seph/Cloud/Tseng, Seph/Cloud/Rufus or Seph/Cloud/Zack. If you have any preferences let me know and while I can't guarantee it will happen, I will take suggestions in account. That being said, since I am just getting back into writing again I decided to keep this first chapter short to minimize errors and get a feel for where I want to go with this. This fic is not beta'd so if you see anything wrong I have no problem fixing it. I'll end it here and I look forward to all your comments and hope you all enjoy this new fic. I would also like to credit Almost Karma and Butterfly Effect as big inspirations for this fic.
> 
> Disclaimer: In my imagination I own FFVII and everyone loves on Cloud but sadly this is real life and Square Enix owns FFVII and all it's characters.

**Chapter 1**

 

Brilliant blue eyes snapped open abruptly and with a heaving gasp the small child levered himself in to a sitting position. Slender fingers pinched at the bridge of his nose while he clenched his eyes and forced his breathing to slow.  It was a nightly occurrence, memories become nightmares, long passed but never forgotten. This night it was a deep sinister voice of a once idol that echoed in his mind and it was taking a little more time than usual to push it away.

Eventually his heartbeat slowed and his breaths became less labored and more even and the voices in his head quieted. He dropped his hand to his lap and froze in place, his eyes snapping open once more when he felt the rough wool fabric covering his legs and not the crocheted blanket he gotten from a little old lady he'd done a delivery for. His eyes widened and his jaw dropped in shock. He was in his childhood bedroom, in Nibelheim, which had been destroyed. But no that wasn't correct; the small mountain village was fine it hadn't been burnt to the ground.

The boy shook his head, blond spikes fluttered with the movement and he frowned in concentration. He had two sets of conflicting memories; yesterday he had been 8 and 25. It has been a clear mild day on the outside of Edge, Nibelheim had been cool and overcast, the village covered in a dense fog for most of the day. He had spent the morning doing deliveries, the afternoon tuning up Fenrir, the evening was spent with Tifa, Marlene and Denzel and the night tending to the bar with Tifa. He spent the morning doing chores, the afternoon doing his school work and the evening with his Mother. He went to bed as usual.

Nothing made any sense, from his earliest memories as a toddler to last night where crystal clear but overlapping that were faded, disjointed memories he barely remembered from his childhood leading all the way until he recovered his own mind after so long think he was Zack Fair. He shouldn’t be able to remember any of his childhood except for Tifa and her father, the bridge incident, his mother and the near constant bullying. The memories warred against each other and thinking about them was just giving him a headache.

He fisted the rough blanket in his hands and fought against the panic rising in his chest. He bite his lip to keep the scream that was building in his throat from erupting past his lips and felt the pain and blood flood his mouth as his teeth cut into sensitive flesh. He was freaking out, he had no idea what was going on. Obviously this wasn't a dream considering his lip was now throbbing in pain and there was no way everything had lived through and done was a dream. There was no way time travel was possible, right? Jenova or the Planet surely would have been able to do something like that, they were the two most powerful entities in the known universe after all. So what was real?

There was one way to prove that everything he knew, had done, wasn't a dream. He glanced to the side at the rough wooden night stand next to his bed where his clock sat, it was just past 3 a.m. He had roughly three hours until his mother woke to start breakfast, if he hurried he could possibly make it back before she was up. With his mind made up he threw his legs over the side of the bed and ignoring the cool floor under his bare feet he pulled his night clothes off and a pair of jeans and a black sweater on. He opened his door with a creak and pause to make sure he hadn’t woken his mother, she may not have been a light sleeper but she didn’t sleep like the dead either. Once he had determined she hadn’t woken, he tiptoed his way through the house, to the front door. He snuck out with his boots in hand and put them on once the door closed behind him.

~

The blond stood at the gate leading to the Shinra Mansion frozen. Memories, dreams? Assaulted him, leaving him breathing heavily and gritting his teeth. He could almost feel the heat of a raging fire on his back, hear the crackling of burning wood and hear the fading screams of dying villagers he’d known his entire life. He shook his head and forced everything to the back of his mind before making his way to the front door. This wasn’t the time to get lost in his head, he needed to know and was determined to prove he hadn’t imagined or dreamed his whole adult life.

Despite the rundown appearance, the door opened with only a whisper of sound. The inside, while covered in dust on every available surface, was in decent condition. He shut the door behind him with a quiet click. The place looked exactly as he remembered, dreamed? The hair on the back of his neck rose and goose bumps pricked along his arms. He'd have to be careful to keep away from the few monsters that roamed the halls. He hoped like Hel that Vincent was real and he hadn't just had a bad nightmare because the only way he was getting to the man was to go searching for something to pick the lock on the door to his room, was not match for the monster guarding the safe that contained the key to his room. And the only place where there would be anything remotely similar to lock picking tools would be in the labs, he really didn't want to go down there.

The childlike boy crept through the house ignoring the elegant curving staircase leading to the upper floor and made his way deeper into the house and eventually down the basement stairs. Terrifying mental images froze him in the doorway to the lab. Flashes of green and unimaginable pain, bright blue eyes and encouraging words, rough hands and the laugh of a madman. He sucked in a shuddering breath and clenched shaking hands, all he had to do was find something to pick the locks and get out. He took one quick step into the room then another, he just needed to focus.

It took a few minutes of rummaging around, but eventually he found 2 small sturdy metal medical tools that would works. He grinned triumphantly and ran out of the room. When the lock opened with an audible click, he sent up a silent thanks to Reno. He took a deep calming breath and shoved the door open. There were the coffins lined up in the middle of the room. He approached the coffin that should hold Vincent and cocked his head in thought. There was no way that his unenhanced 8 year old body would be strong enough to move the stone lid, but maybe he'd be able to find something to lever it off.

He looked around the room, there was plenty of refuse laying around and if he didn't find something here the basement was large so he was bound to find something. He finally found a piece of wood long and flat enough in one of the neighboring rooms,  he just hoped it was strong enough. For what seemed like an eternity he heaved and pushed trying to get the stone lid to move. The boy was panting and dripping with sweat by the time the lid moved just enough for him to wedge the piece of wood in the opening of the coffin.  

He stopped long enough to catch his breath and wipe the sweat from his eyes, silently cursing his young weak body and lack of mako enhancements the whole time. The only good to come from Hojo, besides his creation of Sephiroth, was giving Cloud the strength to do what needed to be done. There would be time to change some of that later, right at that moment though he needed to dig deep and free an ex-Turk. He hopped up on the edge of the coffin and jammed the piece of wood in the opening. He used all of his miniscule body weight to get the heavy stone lid to budge and for a moment he worried he just wouldn't have the strength.

In the blink of an eye the lid suddenly slid off and landed on the floor with a loud crash and without anything to hold him up the boy went flying forward, but before he could land an arm caught him around his waist and he found himself sitting in the coffin across a pair of legs. The blond looked up into a pair of ruby red eyes set in a pale face with sharp elegant features, framed by wild black hair. He couldn't hold in the half hysterical laugh that escaped.

“Vincent.” He breathed, relief coloring his voice. “You're real. I knew it couldn't have been a dream. I was starting to think I was going insane.” He knew he was babbling but couldn't stop the words pouring from his mouth. Thankfully Vincent interrupted him.

“I don't know how you know my name, Child. But you should not be here. Go home to your parents before you get yourself killed.” Vincent demanded even as he released the blond. His monotone growl was a comfort to Cloud who was stuck in this strange familiar place.

There were only 3 things that would get Vincent out of that coffin and the child knew them all, luckily. “My name is Cloud Strife and I think I need your help. You are Vincent Valentine, ex-Turk whose mentor and partner was Veld. You are the keeper of 4 demons known as Chaos, Galian Beast, Hellmasker and Death Gigas. You are in love with a woman you used to guard named DR. Lucrecia Crescent, mother to Sephiroth and wife to DR. Hojo. Sephiroth is still alive and so is Lucrecia, sort of. I have reason to believe that if something doesn't change Hojo will set Sephiroth up to destroy the Planet.” Short, to the point and the most efficient way to get Vincent to listen.

Cloud awkwardly climbed out of the coffin, allowing Vincent to gracefully jump out and tower over him menacingly. “What do you mean Lucrecia is not dead and how do you know?” He demanded harshly.

Clouds 8 year old self wanted to fidget nervously but his inner adult prevailed and he stood steady under that piercing red gaze, he should have known Vincent would focus on her and ignore the rest for the time being. “There is a cave to the south east right in the middle of here and the Gold Saucer. If you can find a map I can show you where it is. You should know that while she is alive she has encased herself in crystallized mako. You can still talk to her though.”

“How do you know all that?” Vincent asked wearily, eyeing the child with barely concealed suspicion.

Cloud shook his head, “That's a long story and we don't have time for me to tell you, let alone get you to believe me. Let's see if we can find a map, you can see her for yourself and that'll reinforce my story.”

Vincent nodded his agreement but said nothing more. “The library would be the best place to search for one.” Cloud turned away and exited the room, leading the way to the library. They would have to pass through the lab but it couldn’t be helped.  

They spent close to an hour looking for a map before giving up. Cloud then collected a loose blank piece of paper and pencil left around on one of the desk and drew him a rough sketch that should get him to the cave. As they made their way back to the foyer, Cloud made a mental note to have Vincent go through the manor with him to collect all the materia hidden around and go through the books in the library to get rid of all the false information just in case. They departed the manor together and made a plan to meet up at the gate 3 days from then and went their separate ways.

~

The sky was just starting to lighten when Cloud made it home. He sighed tiredly and opened the door to step through. His mother poked head out of the kitchen and frowned. He could just imagine how he looked, dirty, sweaty and probably still flush from his unexpected work out trying to free Vincent.

She stepped into the living room as she wiped her hands on her apron. “Cloud, sweetheart, where have you been? Are you alright?” She asked worriedly.

“I’m okay Ma, just had a bad dream and couldn’t go back to sleep so I went for a walk.” He gave her a kiss on the cheek and went back to his room to grab a fresh pair of clothes before she could ask any more questions. He knew there were going to be problems though since he was acting and talk very differently and he wasn’t sure he had the skills to act like he was supposed to. He had always been a terrible liar.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I purposefully left out Angeal and Genesis toward the end because as far as I know Cloud had never met them and remembered nothing about them. They will be a part of this story though I just plan on surprising Cloud with them. If there are any major typos or errors please let me know, I had to write this on a tablet and it's not easy. Anyway I hope you all enjoy.

**Chapter**   **2**

Cloud spent the next 3 days completing his chores and school work before lunch and whittling a sturdy branch into a practice weapon before dinner. He stayed up well into the night sketching the designs for his Fusion Blade and Fenrir; he would have his sword and bike back no matter what they were a part of him and just know they didn't even exist yet made him feel a little naked and vulnerable.

He had years of battle and tactical knowledge, katas from multiple styles of fighting, stuck in his head but without the strength or muscle memory to go along with the know how it was all useless. Doing one-handed sword katas to begin with would build up his muscle memory and his morning runs through the mountain would help with his stamina and his reflexes since the forest was pretty dense. With only a rough plan in mind, Cloud hoped Vincent would be willing to help with his training, the man had been one of the best Turks and they all may have been sneaky amoral bastards but they were talented and skilled. The Turks had skills that SOLDIERS were never taught because they were mostly just heavy hitters, stealth, hacking and blending in with your surrounds were just a few useful ones Cloud wanted to learn.

He hadn’t decided just yet if going to Midgar or trying to become a SOLDIER would help or be a good idea, but if that did become part of his plan he had 5 years to train since 14 was the minimum age to apply for the SOLDIER Cadet program, 1 year to become a SOLDIER and 1 year before Sephiroth was assigned to the mission to Nebelheim. The only problem was there were way too many variables to plan accordingly. On the small possibility that he was sent back in time, not likely, than everything he was doing now threw the whole timeline out of whack and things have been irrevocably changed and all his planning would be useless. If everything he knew was a dream than it’s possible that things will progress as he has planned with the slightest of changes. Either way it wasn’t something he was going to worry about, he’d just have to come up with a few contingency plans. The number one worry was Getting rid of Jenova and erasing all the false data proclaiming the Calamity a Cetra. He had a plan for Jenova, he just hoped it would work.

~

Those 3 days were an adjustment period and it was difficult for Cloud. He found that not only were his memories at war but so was his personality. As a child he had been quiet and a loner but as an adult he'd been solemn and pretty much a recluse. That small happy loving piece of Zack that had resided in the back of his head was no longer there, but he _remembered_ what it was like to be him. He remembered what what Zack  _felt_ and that was just as ingrained in him as Clouds childlike self and his adult self. He was having a hard time balancing 3 different personalities, especially when one was so very different than his own.

He was seen in the village less than before and avoided all human contact besides his mother. He did not and would not seek out Tifa, she had been his best friend after Zack and Aeris but that was because of shared pain and bad experiences. She had been so very different as a child, popular and spoiled; they never would have come together if it hadn't been for the village being burnt down. He had made that stupid promise only because he had been lonely and wanted a friend, she only made it because she wanted someone to save her from this village and the life that lay before her. He wouldn't be as thoughtless this time, she was a strong woman and would be able to save herself. Without him in the picture she would be able to find real love, get married and have children. She would be able to find her own way; it made him a little sad and a little happy but ultimately it felt like the right thing to do.

~

The third day came early, Cloud spent the early morning hours running up the mountain and dodging in and out of the trees, it was a lot of work and even pushing himself to his limit, it was going to take a long time to get where he needed to be. He made it back to his house, dirty and soaked in sweat, before his mother woke up and was showered and dressed by the time she had breakfast ready. There was chores and school work, which was ridiculously easy now, then lunch. After washing his dishes he rushed out of the house with a yelled goodbye at his mother.

Vincent was waiting for him in the foyer of the manor. Cloud eyed the man, looking for any wounds but the ex-Turk looked the same as usual. “You found her?”

Vincent nodded. “Yes, I am ready to hear your story now if you are ready to tell it.”

He knew that was all that he would get from the man unless he felt like sharing, and that was highly unlikely. “We'll go in here,” Cloud led him into the piano room where he sat straddling the bench facing the window. Vincent leaned against the wall where he could see the window, door and Cloud.

Cloud looked down at his hands resting in his lap. So strange and yet familiar. Small and uncalloused, dainty. He shook his head and pushed the unimportant thought away. “This is going to be a long and weird story. I still don't know exactly what happened or how.” He took a deep breath and began at the beginning, age 14 and his failed attempt to join SOLDIER.

The telling took forever because up until his 21st year all the memories were hazy at worst or disjointed at best. The Mako poisoning screwed with his head in a major way and there were too many things he didn't know, remember or only found out later after the fact. Vincent had taken to stopping at points to ask questions to get a clearer picture. When he was finished he waited for Vincent's input while he tried to work some moisture in his dry mouth. It had been the most he had spoken in a very long time and he was regretting not bringing something to drink with him. Vincent stared at him thoughtfully before frowning slightly. It was an unusual occurrence for him to show any emotion so Cloud waited patiently for him to work through whatever was going on in his head.

“Chaos knows something but is not talking. All I can get from him is amusement.” Vincent stated in aggravation.

“He is a part of the Planet even if he came from tainted Lifestream. He's a semi Weapon so he probably does know something. I Would like to know what happened to me but I know he will do what he wants so I'm not going to try and push the issue. I'll just keeping going as if everything is written in stone and will happen if we don't do something.” Cloud shrugged unconcerned. “Is he listening? I had idea and I know he's not one to help but it couldn't hurt to ask.”

“He is.”

“Jenova is a threat not only to all life on the Planet but also to the Planet herself. Chaos is a being made up of tainted Lifestream and the devourer of souls. Is it possible for him to destroy Jenova without tainting the pure Lifestream? Anything we do will result in taint. Burning it will create ash which will seep into the Lifestream, throwing it in Mako will speed along the taint and we have no way to create a container that is airtight and unbreakable. The only surefire way would be to send it back into space but that would mean waiting years for Cid to perfect his spaceship and having a safe place to keep it until then.”

Vincent cocked his head slightly as if he were listening. “It is possible, we would need to see the Calamity first.”

“Easy enough, we can head up to the reactor first thing in the morning, it's too late to do it tonight. I have to be home before my mother becomes any more suspicious.” Cloud said, standing and getting ready to leave.

“How do you know it will be there?”

Cloud turned back to Vincent. “I'm not completely positive but I have a theory. 19 years ago Shinra started talking about Mako Reactors to supply people with power. By the time Gast discovered Jenova 18 years ago, Shinra was getting ready to build the first reactor right here in the Nibel Mountains. I think to keep Jenova a secret the company decided to use the reactor for a secondary purpose, Jenova’s room is built into the reactor with its name engraved on a plate above the door. The containment tube that it is held in is covered with an effigy of it, Sephiroth was able to pry it away from the container but he was the strongest person on the Planet. You'll see what I mean, but anyway I believe that since Jenova was being contained in the reactor, Shinra Mansion was built at the same time or shortly after the rector so that Gast and Hojo could continue their work with Project J.”

“A well thought out theory. I could not tell you if you are correct or not, I was only assigned to watch over the Project after everything was in place. I knew next to nothing about the Project and Jenova, I only objected to the experiments when Lucrecia began having visions of her unborn child. My sin is I failed them all, Lucrecia, Gast and Sephiroth.” Vincent said solemnly.

Cloud grit his teeth and took a few angry steps towards the older man until he was standing directly in front of him. He reached up and grabbed a handful of Vincent's red cloak pulling him down so that they were eye level. “Listen very carefully Vincent, you are a good man, not a monster or an all knowing being. She was a woman you were very much in love with and carrying a child you wished with all your heart was yours. You may have given up a little too easily but at least you tried which is more than anyone else did. It is not too late to atone for things you think are your sins, right now there is a teenager in the middle of a war with no friends and only a father that wants to use him as an experiment. Stop feeling sorry for yourself Vincent and do something, Sephiroth is going through the worst imaginable torture under Hojos care and it needs to stop. I won't lie and say you could have a familial relationship with him because I just don't know, but he does need a friend. Someone who can tell him about his human mother, someone who can remind him he is human and that he was cared for, loved even. I trust you with my life and with this, I can't do this alone.” Cloud stopped his ragged breathing overly loud in the silent room.

Vincent reached up and gently pried Clouds hand from his cloak. “You are correct, thank you Cloud Strife. It is time for you to go now. I will meet you at the gates in the morning.”

“Alright, goodnight Vincent.” Cloud smiled when heard the soft goodnight in reply as he left the room.

~

Vincent spent the night in that same position, staring sightlessly out the window into the pitch black night with only the stars and moon to cast any light. Cloud Strife was an enigma; he knew of the demons imprisoned within himself and showed no fear, he seemed to care for Vincent a great deal and counted him a friend, he trusted Vincent with his life and the man just couldn't understand that but he wasn't going to betray that trust. He tucked his head a little further into his collar and let his lips twitch Into a small smile. The boy with hair like the sun and eyes like blue fire was going to change the Planet and Vincent planned to be a part of that change.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have decided on the final pairing and I know just how it's gonna happen though it will be a bit of a slow build. For the sake of this fic Tseng is 19, Sephiroth is 18 and Cloud is 9 at this point. I hope you all enjoy this next chapter and and comments or suggestions are appreciated.

**Chapter 3**

Cloud spent that night tossing and turning, nightmares pulling him from sleep with shaking limbs and gasping breaths. He’d lay down only for it to happen again a short time later. Finally a few hours before dawn he gave up on sleep, got dressed and headed to the Shinra Mansion. He and Vincent hadn’t decided on a time to meet but the ex-Turk was waiting at the gate patiently; Cloud wasn’t surprised.

Vincent frowned down at the blond. “Cloud?” He was paler than usual, violet bruises underlined his eyes and normally bright blue eyes were dulled by fatigue.

Cloud waved away his concern. “I’m fine Vincent, just a bad night. I’ll sleep a lot easier once Jenova is taken care of for good.”    

“Very well, we should go now.” Vincent stated him his usually gravelly monotone. He waited only moment for confirmation before turning away and leading him up the mountain.

Most of the walk was spent in silence with Cloud trying to mimic Vincent smooth silent glide up the rough mountain path. Unfortunately his small 9 year old body was not cooperating and he sounded like a herd of Grand Horns and now on top of being exhausted he was also frustrated.

About halfway to the reactor, Vincent interrupted his mental self-flagellation to ask him a question. “If Chaos is able to destroy Jenova now, what are your plans for the future?”

“I'm not exactly sure, keep doing what I have been? I'm only 9 so I'll spend the next few years training. Since the village is small there are less than a dozen children so we are all homeschooled which means I'll progress fast and I don’t have to worry too much about that, it's mostly just dull and repetitive. What I am really unsure about is what I should do about Shinra and the SOLDIER program.” Cloud said a little breathlessly.

Vincent glanced back over his shoulder. “What do you mean?”

“There is just so much that needs to be done, Jenova is not the only problem. Shinra is full of corruption but the whole company can't, or I should say shouldn't be brought down, 90 percent of the Planet count on Shinra and tearing them down could be disastrous. It can however be made into something better.” Cloud kept going trying to keep from sounding winded as he spoke; he was secretly relieved when his companion slowed to walk beside him while conversing.

“The President needs to go, he will never stop searching for the fabled promise land, never stop sucking the Lifestream from the Planet. Heidegger and Scarlet need to go as well they're money grubbing warmongers and have a high chance of taking over the company before Rufus, the President's son. Right now Rufus is a spoilt little brat but he is smart and cunning. He's a bastard, not in the literal sense, but if his brain and power could be put to good use it's the lesser of evils. Hojo and Hollander will die.” Cloud stated venomously. “Reeve would make an excellent Vice President but he's perfect where he is, he just needs to be pointed in the right direction.”

“What is the right direction?” Vincent asked, never taking his eyes from their surroundings.

“Alternative power sources. He made great progress with wind and water as a power source, water for cities like Junon and wind for the cities inland. The SOLDIER program was born for war but that's not all it could be for, monsters are a part of the Planet they were here before humans and they will be here long after we are gone and with natural sprung Mako pools that poison some monsters they end up too strong for unenhanced humans to kill. SOLDIERS would be better as protectors of the people than weapons. If the SOLDIERS, the Turks and the regular Army worked together than the military program would flourish.” Cloud paused in his rant and frowned.

“Then there is Deepground, I don't know much about it but what I do know is they are another major issue that needs to be taken care of. The people of Deepground are dangerous; they are a threat to the Planet and you specifically. If they aren't stopped they will come after you for the protomateria that resides within you and eventually Ultimate Weapon will rise. There is probably more that am forgetting or have no knowledge of but that’ll be a worry when and if any problems crop up.” Cloud shook his head, the list was daunting and he had no idea where to start.

“Somethings have to be taken care of from within the company and some from outside and I'm not sure where the best place for me would be. I am not even sure if I want to be a part of SOLDIER.”

Vincent stopped and turned to face the deceptively young boy; he placed a hand on his shoulder and looked down at him, “This is why you woke me Cloud, to atone for my sins, to do something. You have asked for my help and you will have it. If you need someone on the outside I will do it, I cannot go back to Shinra but even if I could I would not. I apologize for that, but I made a promise to Lucrecia that I would take care of her son and I can't do that from the outside so I need your help as well.”

“I'm not really sure if we can keep Sephiroth from going insane. I have no idea what set him off in the first place, I only _think_ that Jenova was the cause because when he came back after I threw him in the reactor he was more _it_ than himself.”

Vincent squeezed Cloud’s shoulder gently. “Then we try, we exhaust every possibility and then some until there is no hope left.”

Cloud gave Vincent a small but genuine smile, hope brightening his already bright eyes. He had never been the type of person to look on the bright side of things but here in this moment with Vincent's unconditional support and faith Cloud could see something like a happy ending for them all. “I guess that answers that question then, when I turn 14 I will be going to Midgar to join the SOLDIER cadet program. I have 5 years to train and I'll need you to teach me some skills that I'll need and was never taught.”

Vincent gave the bony shoulder under his hand one final gentle squeeze. “Whatever you need.”

“Thank you my friend.” Cloud said gratefully. Vincent led the rest of the way in a comfortable silence.

~

They made it with little fuss but entering the reactor brought back more unpleasant flashbacks that Cloud had to force to the back of his mind. Inside looked the exact same right down to the lines of Mako filled pods and the large lettering of Jenova’s name above the thick metal door below it.

Vincent led the way up without hesitation. Cloud took a few steps to the side when they reached the door so as not to be in the way. The ex-Turk grabbed the handle with both hands and pulled, when that didn't work he place a foot against the wall for more leverage and his eyes flashed gold as Chaos lent his strength to the task. Very slowly the door began to bend outward and with a loud scream of metal grinding against metal the door came open.

The room wasn't all that big so Cloud stayed at the doorway looking in. Vincent stopped in front of the effigy towering over them. “I believe that your theory may hold some truth Cloud. It is behind this?” Vincent asked turning to look over his shoulder.

“Yes, all I know is that it is a cover. I have no idea if it serves any other purpose.”

“It does not matter.” Vincent stated, grabbing both sides of the metal. The effigy was much easier to pull away from the container than the door was to open, and heaved it against the far wall. Cloud approached the container eyeing the being within with soul deep hatred.

“I do not understand how it could be mistaken as a Cetra. The few text that have been found told of a race that looked human in appearance.” Vincent said derisively. He turned his head towards Cloud. “We can take care of it; however I would prefer you not being here for this. I will call you back when it is done.”

Cloud inclined his head respectively, he would like to have stayed to see it done but if his staying would make Vincent uncomfortable stepping out of the room was the least he could do. He took a seat on the stairs just out of sight of the room and waited and when he heard the shattering of glass he twitched but made no move to stand.

~

In the city of Midgar miles away from where Vincent and Cloud were, at the exact moment Chaos devoured the Calamities soul, three men were yanked from a sound sleep. Two huddled together for comfort, shuddering and confused and wondering what had happened. One jolted upright in bed his hands clutching at his head trying to ease the fierce pounding behind his eyes. Another sat up next to him slowly so as not to startle him, an elegant golden hand rubbing gently at a broad pale back.

“Seph, what's wrong.” A low soothing voice hoarse from sleep, asked.

The silver general moved only enough to peer through parted fingers. “I am fine Tseng, I believe.” He had just barely finished his sentence when his PHS began to ring. “Sephiroth.” He answered it with his usual cool monotone, not betraying and ounce of pain he still felt.

Tseng couldn't hear the person on the other side was saying but once Sephiroth’s normally inexpressive face started showing a frown, he began to worry.

~

A shaky sounding Vincent called Cloud back into the room. The boy raced back to Vincent's side worried that something had gone wrong. He found Vincent leaning against a wall and a pile of something like pitch black ash left where Jenova once was. He approached the older man wearily not sure of his condition. “Are you okay?”

“I will be, I just need a moment. That was not a pleasant experience. It is done though and what is left holds no Jenova cells to corrupt the Lifestream.” Vincent answered his voice still holding a slight tremble but growing stronger with every word.

Cloud grinned widely, a little of the weight that had been on his shoulders easing slightly. This was the start to a new and hopefully good beginning. They weren't anywhere close to the end but it was a start in the right direction.


End file.
